The Border Management Authority (BMA) has facilitated the legitimate movement of about 4 902 269 travellers across South Africa’s 71 ports of entry during the 2025/2026 festive period.
This was announced by BMA Commissioner, Dr Michael Masiapato, during a media briefing, held in Pretoria on Friday, where he presented the authority’s 2025/2026 festive season operational report.
The festive season operational plan was implemented from 10 December 2025 to 15 January 2026.
The implementation of the plan was undertaken in close collaboration with multiple law-enforcement and regulatory partners, including the South African Police Service (SAPS), South African Revenue Service (SARS), South African National Defence Force (SANDF), the Cross-Border Road Transport Agency (CBRTA), various intelligence structures, INTERPOL, the Immigration Inspectorate of the Department of Home Affairs, the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC), as well as the Provincial Joint Operations (ProvJoints) and provincial and local traffic authorities.
Of the total travellers facilitated, about 1 369 775 were South African nationals, while approximately 3 532 494 were foreign nationals.
“In facilitating this movement, we processed about 340 876 private vehicles, 9 072 mini-bus taxis, and 10 349 buses through our land modality. On air modality, we processed about 7 787 aircrafts while about 243 vessels were processed through our sea modality," the Commissioner said.
OR Tambo International Airport (ORTIA) remained the busiest port of entry, facilitating 991 535 travellers, followed by Lebombo land port of entry to Mozambique with 755 529 travellers, and Beitbridge land port of entry to Zimbabwe with 618 562 travellers.
Lebombo experienced a significant increase in traveller volumes of about 184 398, surpassing Beitbridge to become the second busiest port of entry after ORTIA.
Masiapato attributed the increase to the post-election violence which affected cross-border travel at Lebombo during the 2024/2025 festive period.
The Commissioner noted that 84% of all travellers were facilitated at the top 10 ports of entry, including OR Tambo International Airport, Beit Bridge, Lebombo, Kopfontein, Oshoek, Cape Town International Airport, Maseru Bridge, Ficksburg Bridge, Caledonspoort and Groblersbridge.
Of the total travellers processed, about 4 115 112 were facilitated at the top ten ports, while the remaining 16% were facilitated at the other 61 ports of entry.
Joint law enforcement operations
In dealing with illegal migration and other forms of illegality, BMA Border Guards participated in more than 531 joint law enforcement operations, mainly roadblocks and vehicle check points outside designated border law enforcement areas.
The guards also conducted 10 455 vehicle and foot patrols and raided about 8 288 hotspot areas within the border law enforcement zones.
“The partnership and deployment of DCD Protected Mobility vehicles had a significant operational impact on patrol operations by markedly enhancing our mobility, visibility and response capability in high-risk areas including rugged terrain and flooded rivers.
“The deployment of the Sherp All-terrain Vehicle in the flooded Limpopo River around Beitbridge allowed for uninterrupted operations despite environmental challenges,” Masiapato said.
During the festive operations, Border Guards detected and intercepted about 26 852 individuals attempting to enter South Africa illegally. Of these, about 22 153 were undocumented, 2 353 were declared undesirable due to overstaying, and 2 346 were found inadmissible because of invalid passports, fraudulent visas or lack of yellow fever certificates.
Incrementally, the BMA has managed to intercept more than 530 145 individuals who attempted to enter South Africa illegally since July 2022, following the deployment of the first contingent of Border Guards.
Decline in attempted illegal entries
Masiapato noted a significant decline of 46% in attempted illegal entries compared to the 58 394 recorded during the 2024/2025 festive season, attributing the reduction largely to the deterrent effect of drone deployment in the border environment.
Of the total intercepted individuals, about 14 828 were Basotho nationals, followed by Zimbabweans at 5 370, and Mozambicans at about 1 373.
In addition, Border Guards arrested about 81 travellers for offences, including possession of stolen vehicles, illegal firearms, contraband, drugs and a range of dangerous goods, such as commercial explosives and blasting cartridges. – SAnews.gov.za
